


Waiting to Be Found

by Diana Williams (dkwilliams)



Category: Big Eden (2000)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-27
Updated: 2012-11-27
Packaged: 2017-11-19 16:59:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/575547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkwilliams/pseuds/Diana%20Williams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You know they say when you get lost in the woods - if you stay put, stay in one place and don't wander, they'll find you."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting to Be Found

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nestra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nestra/gifts).



> For Yuletide Treasures 2006

The minute he closed the truck door behind Mary Margaret, Henry wondered if he was making a big mistake. While the notion that Pike Dexter had been quietly courting him all these months was flattering, it was also a bit frightening. And after all, what did they have in common besides Big Eden and an affinity for the Pleiades? But then the truck was pulling away and it was too late to change his mind, and maybe Mary Margaret was right that he should take a chance on what could be a Good Thing.

That thought sustained him during the drive to the general store, so it was more than a little disconcerting to see that Pike's truck wasn't parked in its usual place next to the building. Henry pulled into the vacant spot and sat for a moment, debating whether he should just turn around and head back home. Or maybe drive around a bit and see if he spotted Pike's truck somewhere else in town - maybe he'd gone over to Widow Thayer's house out of habit, only it was a bit early for that...

__

_"You know they say when you get lost in the woods; if you stay put, stay in one place and don't wander, they'll find you.."_

Henry drew in a deep breath and opened the truck door. With deliberate steps, he made his way across the front porch and, seeing that the Open sign was displayed, turned the handle and went inside.

Any hope that Pike had loaned his truck to someone else was dashed at the sight of the nearly empty store. The only one there was Jim, drinking coffee and reading the paper; he had looked up at the sound of the door opening and was now staring at Henry in surprise.

"Um, hello," Henry said. "Is - is Pike here?"

Jim cocked his head slightly. "Nope. Just left."

"Oh." His determination started to ebb and he thought again about turning and running for home, to come back another time. Or maybe just heading to the airport and getting on that plane.

"Yep, he headed to the airport." Jim folded the newspaper with deliberation and set it aside, then looked back at him, a shrewd and assessing look in his eyes. "Going after you, as a matter of fact, to ask you not to leave."

Henry blinked. "Oh. But I didn't leave."

Jim's eyes crinkled at the corners. "I can see that." Then the assessing look came back into his eyes again. "Just what are your intentions, Henry Hart?"

Henry blinked again. "My intentions?" he asked blankly.

The big man crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, his eyes fixed on Henry. "Seemed like you had your heart set on Dean Stewart, and then he took up with the mayor and you were leaving town. Only now you're here, asking about Pike, and I gotta say this. If you're planning on breaking his heart, you best be getting on that plane now rather than later."

Henry's mouth had gone dry but he didn't look away from the eyes pinning his. "I don't want to hurt Pike. I...like him. A lot."

Jim's gaze softened and he smiled, his eyes crinkling again. "Good." He stood and gestured toward the coffee counter. "Espresso? Cappuccino? It's likely to be a bit of a wait."

Henry wanted to say, "That's it? You're just going to take my word on it?" but it looked like Pike's foremost protector had accepted him and he decided not to push his luck. Instead, he nodded and settled down on the couch, glancing at the paper on the table in a desultory way.

A moment later, the bell on the door jangled and Henry looked up hopefully. Lloyd stood in the doorway, book tucked under his arm, looking around the store. "That Sam Hart's truck outside?"

"That it is," Jim said, not looking up from his fiddling with the cappuccino machine.

"Thought young Henry was heading back East today."

"Changed his mind."

Lloyd looked around again, his eyes lighting on Henry. "Huh." That seemed to say it all as far as he was concerned. He settled down in one of the chairs and opened his book. "Fix me one while you're at it, Jim."

Jim grunted in reply and handed Henry his coffee. The door jangled again and Henry nearly dropped the cup, looking over at it anxiously only to see it was another of the seven dwarfs. Jim chuckled. "Relax, Henry. You'll hear that old truck of his long before he opens the door."

Henry sat back in his seat, taking a sip of his coffee and trying to relax, a task made more difficult by the constant jangling of the door bell as more people drifted into the store. He tried to ignore the sound, sipping his coffee and letting Jim field the repeated refrain of "is that Sam's truck?" while he tried to figure out just what he was going to say to Pike.

"My stars! Just look at this crowd!" Widow Thayer's sharp voice made him look up, and he glanced around the room to see that several more people had arrived. Was it always busy this early in the morning? The times he'd come by, there'd only been the same half-dozen men lounging about, but today there seemed to be a lot more than that.

"Just waiting for Pike to return from the airport," Jim said, handing out another cappuccino.

"Well, why did he go running off there when Henry's sitting right here, plain as day?" she asked, exasperation in her voice.

"'Spect he didn't realize that Henry wasn't leaving," Lloyd said without looking up from his book.

"Well, he's going to be hungry after all that running round," the Widow observed briskly. "I'll mix up a batch of my cottage cheese pancakes - no, Jim, I can find my way around the kitchen just fine, you know that, and Pike won't mind a bit."

Henry winced as Widow Thayer disappeared into the living area of the building, but he didn't have long to worry about what she might be doing to Pike's kitchen. The door opened and Grace looked in, her eyes anxiously scanning the assembled group of people before landing on Henry. Her face lit up and he stood as she crossed the room, letting her fold him within her motherly embrace.

"You didn't leave after all," she said, smiling through the tears in her eyes.

Henry shrugged and gave her a half-smile. "I decided to follow your advice, to stay in one place and let myself be found."

"Oh, Henry," she said, and this time the tears threatened to spill as she hugged him again. "Sam would be so happy, and so proud of you."

Anything Henry might have said in reply was cut off by the distinctive sound of a truck pulling up outside and Jim's announcement of "Here he is!" Henry's legs suddenly felt shaky and he dropped back down on the couch. He grabbed the newspaper to hide behind and felt Grace squeeze his knee reassuringly as she settled in the chair next to him.

There were familiar footsteps on the porch, footsteps he'd heard every day for six months on his own front walk, and his heart started racing. The door swung open and there was a long pause, as if Pike was surveying the assembled group as they greeted him.

"Is that...is that Sam Hart's truck outside?"

Pike's voice filled his ears, and he was suddenly aware of how much he would have missed not hearing it ever again. Pike's voice was laced with the usual uncertainty and hesitation, but there was something else, an underlying sound of nearly painful hope, and relief flooded through Henry. It wasn't a mistake on the Widow's part, or his own wishful thinking. Pike Dexter was in love with him, had been for months, and Henry just hadn't seen it until it was nearly too late.

Suddenly, it was easy to drop the paper and lean forward, easy to smile at Pike and speak to him. "Am I blocking you? You need me to move it?"

Stunned dark eyes locked on his and then Pike smiled, and it was like being blinded by the sun emerging after an eclipse, but Henry didn't mind, not in the least, because he knew he was smiling back just as stupidly. And damn if Grace hadn't been right along.

The next few minutes were a chaotic jumble that he never sorted out in his mind when thinking about it later. Somehow he ended up sitting next to Pike as half the town came in an endless stream through the store, Widow Thayer passing out plates of pancakes to anyone who even looked remotely hungry. Henry couldn't eat a bite, content to sit and revel in the feeling of belonging, but Pike wolfed down a plate as if he hadn't eaten in days. Henry, half-drunk with happiness, leaned over to murmur in his ear, "Better eat all of that - don't want you floating off to the stars during the dance tonight."

Pike looked startled for a moment and then laughed out loud. It was the most wonderful thing Henry had ever heard and he couldn't stop grinning. Then Pike turned to look at him and said, his voice low and warm with promise, "I'm not going anywhere."

Henry met Pike's eyes and said, firmly, "Neither am I."

Pike's eyes lit up, all the stars in the skies dancing brightly in their dark depths, taking Henry's breath away. And later that night, as he stood on the dance floor in the circle of Pike's arms feeling his new lover's mouth warm on his own, Henry knew that he'd been found at last.

End


End file.
